Meters that measure utility usage are widely used to keep track of the consumption of an end user. For example, utility companies that supply water to their customers typically charge for their product based on usage. Usage of water is typically measured by a meter that is installed for each individual customer on their respective water supply line. A utility company employee periodically (usually once a month) manually collects the reading from the meter. These readings are usually cumulative, so the amount of usage for the present period is calculated by subtracting the reading from the previous period. Once the usage is calculated, the customer is billed for that amount of water used during that period.
Manually reading usage meters is labor intensive, time consuming expensive, and subject to human error especially for residential customers because each meter monitors relatively little usage as compared with larger, commercial customers. As a result, meters combined with electronics have been used to allow for quicker, more efficient, and more accurate collection of usage data along with other pertinent information such leak information or reverse flow detection. The electronic meters may still measure usage by monitoring flow through a conventional, mechanical meter. The usage readings are stored electronically and then transmitted via radio signals to a local transmitter/receiver operated by the utility.
The transmitter/receiver that receives the data from the meter is typically a mobile receiver that can be handheld or vehicle mounted. A utility employee drives or walks within proximity to the meter and the meter data is received and stored in the transmitter/receiver. While this system is an improvement over a manual meter reading by an employee, it is still labor intensive in that it requires an individual to transport a transmitter/receiver into range of the electronic meter. Consequently, a fixed communications network for automatically reading utility meter data is desirable.